SEC baseball teams start postseason in Hoover

Tuesday

May 24, 2011 at 12:01 AMMay 27, 2011 at 10:16 AM

Southeastern Conference baseball teams have again gathered in Hoover to kick off postseason play today in the SEC tournament at Regions Park.

Southeastern Conference baseball teams have again gathered in Hoover to kick off postseason play today in the SEC tournament at Regions Park.While NCAA regional play won't begin until next week, there will be plenty of drama this week as teams try to assure themselves the chance to keep playing next week.Georgia (28-28) is the No. 5 seed and Auburn (29-27) is the No. 8 seed at this week's tournament. Both have computer profiles that would give them a good chance to earn an at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament, but there's one stipulation — teams must be at least one game over .500 for at-large consideration.That means the Bulldogs have to win at least three games in the double-elimination tournament. The Tigers need at least one win.“We just need to continue to play hard,” Auburn coach John Pawloski said. “Our team has played hard all year long. These kids have battled and we have talked about how it hasn't been real easy but we know what we have to do.”Georgia coach David Perno said he didn't expect the added pressure to get to his team. The Bulldogs have consistently battled adversity this season, starting with a 3-8 record and losing outfielder Johnathan Taylor to a horrific injury that left him partially paralyzed.“Nothing changes for us,” Perno said. “We've got to win games and play good baseball.”Auburn will face South Carolina (44-12), the No. 1 overall seed in the tournament and the defending national champions, in today's opener.South Carolina coach Ray Tanner has masterfully mixed and matched lineups to keep his team among the nation's elite, even with star outfielder Jackie Bradley Jr. sidelined with an injury. The Gamecocks have leaned on their outstanding pitching staff, led by Michael Roth, who comes into the tournament with a 10-3 record and a 1.28 ERA.“We're not the most talented team in the world, but we've got guys who play the game the right way,” Tanner said.Alabama (32-24), the No. 7 seed in the field, will meet 18th-ranked Arkansas (36-18) in the early game beginning at 9:30 a.m. The Razorbacks are the tournament's No. 2 seed.Alabama leans heavily on leadoff hitter and center fielder Taylor Dugas, a second-team all-conference selection. The left-hander is batting .343 this season with five home runs, 19 doubles and a .453 on-base percentage.Third-seeded Florida (41-15) is led by arguably the league's most potent offense and will face No. 6 seed Mississippi State. Gators' catcher Mike Zunino was named the SEC Player of the Year by the league's coaches Tuesday after batting .383 with a league-leading 15 homers, anchoring a lineup that leads the SEC with 52 homers.That power advantage could be zapped by the spacious dimensions of Regions Park. It's always known as pitcher-friendly, and that reputation could grow even greater thanks to the NCAA's mandate of less powerful metal bats that have caused offense to plummet across the nation.But as teams have grown used to the new bats, offense has improved. The Gators hit 31 homers in 30 SEC games.“I think people are hitting a little better,” Florida coach Kevin O'Sullivan said. “As much as pitching had the advantage in the first half of the season, I don't see the gap as big right now.”Vanderbilt (44-9) hopes that's not the case. The Commodores have an SEC-best 2.55 ERA, led by Sonny Gray, who has a 9-3 record, 2.17 ERA and 105 strikeouts in 95.1 innings pitched. He's considered one of the top prospects for next month's Major League Baseball draft.The fourth-seeded Commodores can hit, too, with a league-leading .319 batting average. Vanderbilt's played well in Hoover recently, with a tournament title in 2007.“I'm certainly proud of how we've navigated our way through the season,” Vanderbilt coach Tim Corbin said. “We haven't had many ups and downs. Not many injuries. From that standpoint everything's gone well. We thought this year could be a good one.”This year's tournament is also notable for what teams didn't qualify. LSU won the national title in 2009 and has won the past three SEC Tournaments, but wasn't among the top eight teams in the 12-team league. The Tigers finished tied for last in the Western Division with Mississippi, which hadn't missed a trip to Hoover since 2002.

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